The Erie Board of Trustees voted late Tuesday to reimburse $10,118 in legal expenses Mayor Joe Wilson incurred defending himself against an allegation that he had violated the town's ethics code, a charge that was dismissed by a special prosecutor last week.

The vote was 4-2, with Trustees Jonathan Hager and Janice Moore voting in opposition. The mayor recused himself from the vote.

Wilson was accused earlier this year by a resident of having a conflict of interest when he got involved in real estate deals on the west side of town in 2012. But the special prosecutor investigating the charge determined that the mayor had not acted improperly and concluded that there was no evidence of misdeeds on his part.

Moore noted that town code only permits a maximum reimbursement of $2,000, but town attorney Mark Shapiro said the mayor was directly approaching the board with his request and asking it to use its discretion as to whether he should be paid the full amount.

Mayor Pro Tem Ronda Grassi said it is important that elected officials in Erie be reimbursed for legal expenses if they are exonerated from wrongdoing.

"I can't imagine anybody running for office in the town if they could be on the hook for this much money," she said.